Denied Rework/Improve SCP-035 Mechanics - Pick-and-Mix of Ideas

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Zen

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What does this suggestion change/add/remove:
This seeks to add at least one of a series of changes to SCP-035's mechanics. Any one of these sections below can be done independently of the others, so if CT wants they can throw out all but the bits they like, though they all are based around improving 035 in various ways.

The changes in section 2, I feel are unlikely and I'm not too fussed if they aren't accepted - it is highly likely that they would cause major balance issues, but I wanted to include them just to get some ideas out there that could be used/adapted. Sections 1 and 2, though, mostly add to immersion and improve certain mechanics, and shouldn't affect balance too much, and I really like the ideas - those are the main focus of this suggestion.

  • When players are being influenced by 035, they can move around and work against 035. This isn't allowed under the server rules, but this also would be trivial to prevent in the first place by just cancelling out the player's inputs with a hook or something - do this.
  • Even when somebody isn't struggling against 035, controlling the player in this state is often incredibly fucked and makes the player basically uncontrollable. Look into why this is and improve it.
  • You can't just switch between items normally when possessing people in this state - you can only push G to switch to whichever random item the code has picked out for you. Please replace this with something more controllable - if not able to make it work using the regular weapon switch mechanics, then using e.g. the radial menu or things like that from the reality bending SWEPs.
Whenever a player is close to the mask itself (not the disembodied 035 player, and not the static location of the containment box - see other sections for why), the 035 player should be given a prompt similar to 106's teleport prompt to do the same thing and appear next to players nearby the mask. Similar cooldown, and only for people within a short range of the mask (e.g. from the box out into the LHCZ corridor outside the containment).
Until the mask is put on, the player being "possessed" is essentially considered to be under 035's influence, rather than straight-up possessed. In RP, this should mean that they go to the mask under their own "free-will" to put it on, they're just being influenced by 035 to do so - a key thing here is that they are still themselves in this state.

The current full-possession state is essentially to make things easier and to prevent people from just ignoring the influence and calling it out (failRP/metagaming). This may still commonly happen, so I propose that the 035 player be given the option (possibly via a radial menu like reality bending) to allow the influenced player to interact as normal via comms, voice/text chat, movement, etc. (each being a different option 035 can make available). In other words, 035 would be able to optionally either fully control the player as they do now, or to allow a player they trust to RP properly to engage in roleplay around this influence.

With trustworthy players, this should make breaches using these options much more RP-based and interesting, while also possibly allowing the 035 player to not be so easily detected when in this state (the influenced player acts mostly as-normal, but are still required to go and put on the mask - rather than the influenced player moving weirdly and silently to the 035 containment).

Even when given freedoms with this, the influenced player would still "feel like they should put the mask on" (would be FailRP not to work towards this goal).

In this state, 035 would also be able to talk to the influenced player but not be heard by other players nearby.
When 035 has been breached, but hasn't had a host for a while, surfaces near the mask should start to turn black, and possibly gain writings/drawings of a disturbing and/or mysterious nature. After even longer, black tentacles should start to manifest in the same area that should attack other players (using the tentacle SFX already present in the files).

At the same time, players near the mask should hear one of the following SFX, transitioning between each other where appropriate:
  • whispers1.mp3
  • whispers2.mp3
  • helpme.mp3
  • tentacleidle.mp3
  • tentaclespawn.mp3
Having tentacles may be more work than wanted as it may require modelling and animating (if none already exist that can be used e.g. from CB), but changes like making dark sludge appear on surfaces nearby (especially if it only happens in its containment, not wherever the 035 mask is), writings, and playing ambient sounds would all be possible programmatically.
When the host's body is killed, the 035 player should have the option to abandon the host or not (only if it's the first time the host has died under its control, and only if the death didn't severely damage the body [crushing, explosion, etc.]).

If 035 chooses to abandon the host, or it isn't eligible to choose not to:
  • The mask drops on the floor next to the body
  • The mask, after a delay of X minutes (balance up to CT), goes back into its no-host breach state from that location
  • Each time it enters the no-host state in a single breach, it is less powerful in the state (less time to influence, can't go as far from the mask, etc.)
  • After Y number of times in this state in a single breach, the mask goes dormant for a long time (e.g. 30 minutes) and is easily recontained.
If 035 chooses to keep its current host, and it remains dormant for X amount of time (minimum, can choose to "play dead" for longer), and then the body stands back up, with:
  • Reduced HP
  • Can't sprint
  • Body is visibly decayed
  • Has all the items it previously had
In exchange for this ability to change hosts and revive itself, 035 will have an increased decay rate to the point that it will essentially be forced to change hosts within a decent amount of time. It might also have a reduced amount of HP with a host from the start.

EDIT: Additionally, to fully recontain 035, containment units would need to simply move the mask back into its containment (though watch out for it influencing you).
When 035 has a host, it should be able to influence others in some way. Some ideas I had for this were:
  • 035 can, on a cooldown, and with a risk of failure, target a player and hold G to influence them. This will prompt the target something like "You feel the need to listen to the mask.", and they will be required to follow orders if it succeeds (i.e. it would be failRP not to, with uses of this ability being logged for staff).
  • 035 can, on a cooldown, and with a risk of failure, press G and influence all of the people around it. This might do things like make them unable to hold a weapon ("You feel extremely calm and relaxed."), make them hostile to other humans ("You feel enraged. Kill everyone.", plus maybe they are forced to fire any gun they are holding sporadically), or make them leave ("You feel the need to leave. Right now.", plus maybe they can't look in 035's direction).
Within the content pack, there are various voicelines and SFX for 035 that are unused. These are from SCP: CB, and there's some very interesting potential uses for them. To go through them yourself, simply go to "sound/scp/35/" in the asset browser in the C menu.

Some specific uses I had in mind were:
  • When 035 is being gassed, trigger appropriate options from scp/35/035gas1-6.mp3 to make it more immersive and disturbing.
  • When 035 has a host, allow it to use any of the appropriate voicelines from things like 035idle1-7.mp3, 035out1-3.mp3, and 035_1/2.mp3, using a radial menu or something similar.
  • When you make eye contact with the mask, there should be a small chance to play 035ambient1.mp3 - with a cooldown in between possible plays.
  • When inside the 035 containment area alone, there should be a chance to play 035ambient2.mp3 after ~a minute of being there.
  • When you become possessed/influenced by 035, there should be a chance to play radio1.mp3 or helpme.mp3. radio2.mp3 should also have a chance to play instead if the target is not Foundation staff (D-class, CI, GOC, civilians, etc.).
  • When the possessed player gets near the mask, whispers1.mp3 should start to play.
    • Maybe also for any players that get near the mask when its breached?
  • When the possessed player is extremely close to the mask and looking towards it - or when 035 is about to run out of time possessing them - there should be a small-ish chance to play whispers2.mp3.

To give some background into 1D and 3, here's a recording of me going through them, though it doesn't play them all in full (LOUD ONE NEAR THE END): https://medal.tv/games/garrys-mod/clips/1YJGP85fkrHeIJ/d1337nbWlUYb?invite=cr-MSwyamYsMjAwNzIzMzgwLA

Has something similar been suggested before? If so, why is your suggestion different?:
I don't think so, and I'm pretty sure there's got to be some unique ideas in here given the amount of content even if similar things have been suggested before.

Possible Positives of the suggestion (At least 2):
- Massively increases immersion
- Section 2: Makes 035's abilities much more varied and RP-focused
- 1D & 3: Uses existing assets
- Improve's 035's ability to roleplay

Possible Negatives of the suggestion:
- Section 2: Probably massively unbalanced, and I'd be fine with it not being accepted. Some cool ideas though.
- Dev time - probably a lot of it.

Based on the Positives & Negatives, why should this suggestion be accepted:
I feel like sections 1 and 3 should be accepted as they don't majorly affect the game balance but instead simply make 035 more immersive, improve the ability to RP with/as/around it, and just generally improve on it.

While I would like to see the ideas in section 2 implemented, I recognise they are likely heavily unbalanced, and am fine with them not being accepted. I am more focused on 1 and 3.
 
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Bill Nye The Guy

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and the lack of aa doesnt discount the one-shot weapons in the eyes of a seasoned scp main
consider how 035 is going to get his hands on any kind of oneshot weapon, the only way is either extreme luck possessing somebody with a freedom, hacking into AA to get nerve gas, or somehow being able to use SCP 914 for long enough that nobody will catch you making a cracked weapon
 
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Emilia Foddg

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i meant to say hacks 2 out, hitting the hack cap, which each breach tool one, then breach tools the last, making 6 including himself
...pretty sure the cap is across both hacking and breach tooling, no?
 

Emilia Foddg

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if 035 is out he can hack out 2 other SCP’s before he hits the cap
no, i mean like. the cap for "breached SCPs" overall is 3
035 counts as one, so regardless of whether it breach tools or hacks one, it can only break out one more after that. same for 079, but obviously not the breach tool part.

...right? i thought that was how it worked. why would breach tooling be independent of hacking? that feels like an oversight if so
 

Niox

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no, i mean like. the cap for "breached SCPs" overall is 3
035 counts as one, so regardless of whether it breach tools or hacks one, it can only break out one more after that. same for 079, but obviously not the breach tool part.
I’m getting a stroke reading it but no, the cap is not 3

Complete hypothetical. 035 hacks out 049 and 682. That’s the 3 SCP hack limit reached. All those SCP’s then use their breach tools, which in total is 6 SCP’s out.

...right? i thought that was how it worked. why would breach tooling be independent of hacking? that feels like an oversight if so
More of a smart play imo. If 035 hacks someone like 049 out and he immediately uses his breach tool, 035 can’t hack out a 3rd SCP, resulting in 1 less breach.
It also results in situations where 035 has to decide either dying hacking and in return get more breaches, or use their breach tool with the SCP’s protection
 

Emilia Foddg

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I’m getting a stroke reading it but no, the cap is not 3

Complete hypothetical. 035 hacks out 049 and 682. That’s the 3 SCP hack limit reached. All those SCP’s then use their breach tools, which in total is 6 SCP’s out.


More of a smart play imo. If 035 hacks someone like 049 out and he immediately uses his breach tool, 035 can’t hack out a 3rd SCP, resulting in 1 less breach.
It also results in situations where 035 has to decide either dying hacking and in return get more breaches, or use their breach tool with the SCP’s protection
breach tooling is IN ADDITION TO HACKS?!
 

grunger

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035 has to decide either dying hacking and in return get more breaches, or use their breach tool with the SCP’s protection
scps are usually grateful enough to the 035 who hacks them out to defend them while they hack other scps out, so its almost a guarantee that a strategic scp team gets 6 out if 035 can successfully hack 076 (usual suspect, hes the closest and by far deadliest solo) out first
 

Zen

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scps are usually grateful enough to the 035 who hacks them out to defend them while they hack other scps out, so its almost a guarantee that a strategic scp team gets 6 out if 035 can successfully hack 076 (usual suspect, hes the closest and by far deadliest solo) out first
I do also want to eventually suggest more limits on the number of SCPs breached and the like, but I can't for another three days at least.
 

Emilia Foddg

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I do also want to eventually suggest more limits on the number of SCPs breached and the like, but I can't for another three days at least.
i think there are already planned changes to things like the breach queue and the nature of breaching with the intention of reducing the severity and frequency of breaches
 

YandereMuffin

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+ Massive Support! to everything other than the 3rd suggestion sound and the "damaged body" idea.

I think the sounds could be very irritating and honestly I don't think they sound amazing, maybe it would minorly enhance RP but not by a lot.

The "damaged body" idea where a 035 would basically respawn but weaker I don't like, it just seems weird and unnecessary. The idea of the mask dropping (similar to the 3D glasses/Jade ring SCPs) I enjoy though and I think should be added (with the idea that it can be shot to destroy it and return it to it's normal location.)

Everything else is amazing though, controlling people is currently way too jank and does need changing (and allowing people to RP it out would be cool).

As a person who loves playing 035 I think a nerf to the SCP would be reasonable if these changes were added (and I'd prefer these changes + nerf over current 035.)
 
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Emilia Foddg

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+Support
As much as i hate 035 breaches, 035 is really bad

Also yes how do you think 9 SCP breaches happen you are an E-11 CPT, how did you not know this fr
i just figured someone did the command !breachninewholescps o_O
 

Prplex

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Suggestion Denied

Hi @Zen ,

Thanks for taking the time to make a server suggestion.
The Content Team has chosen to deny your suggestion due to the following reasons:

We feel like this would be a lot of work for too little benefit. In addition to this we plan to look at 035 in future anyway.

Your suggestion will now be locked and marked as denied.​
 
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